Nikon D80 Review

Compared to...

For our studio scene 'test box' comparison we used the Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi) and Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 as the only other currently available similarly priced competition. There should of course be one other camera here, the Pentax K10D, however production units are not yet available, we will include the D80 in our K10D review (whenever that is).

We have also included a comparison to the Nikon D70s (6 megapixel) and Canon EOS 350D (8 megapixel) as a comparison of the increase of resolution with these new ten megapixel cameras.

Lenses

For comparisons (and the resolution chart) we always use sharp prime lenses stopped down (typically to F9). In the case of this comparison we used 50 mm lenses (Nikkor 50 mm F1.8 for the D80, Canon EF 50 mm F1.4 for the EOS 400D and the Minolta 50 mm F1.4 for the DSLR-A100). We've had a few enquiries asking why we use the Nikkor 50 mm F1.8 instead of the F1.4, simply because the F1.8 is sharper at the aperture we're using for these shots (F9), we've been using the F1.8 for Nikon comparisons for quite a while now.

Studio scene comparison (JPEG)

This is our standard studio scene comparison shot taken from exactly the same tripod position. Lighting: daylight simulation, >98% CRI. Crops are 100%. Ambient temperature was approximately 22°C (~72°F).

Both cameras deliver excellent detail, the only slight difference being the EOS 400D image having a crisper appearance with some more detail in texture (it's really unlikely you would be able to see this difference, even in a large print). This slight advantage is probably a combination of Canon's better in-camera image processing and slightly stronger sharpening.

Comments

Yes in bright light, was just looking at some of my 9 year old D80 images taken with the 16-85 lens. The pentaprism viewfinder was vastly superior to the penta-mirror implementation on the lower end Nikon DSLR cameras. Very noisy sensor at high ISO, no better than the Fuji S6000fd of the same era. Were someone looking for an older Nikon DSLR (at the right price of course), the D200 is a significantly better camera and if one can spring for the D300/300S; that is even better. And large enough to be comfortably held and operated by adult human hands with very good ergonomics. I do strongly recommend shooting in RAW and processing the images in Lightroom, Nikon's in camera jpeg processing of that era left a lot to be desired. One can pickup an older used version of Lightroom, say version 5, no need for the latest one. More money saved for lenses.

Starting October 1st, Getty Images will no longer accept images in which the models have been Photoshopped to "look thinner or larger." The change was made due to a French law that requires disclosure of such images.

A court ruling our of Newton, Massachusetts has set an important legal precedent for drone pilots: federal drone laws will now trump local drone regulations in situations where the two are in conflict.

macOS High Sierra came out today, but if you use a Wacom tablet you need to wait a few weeks before you upgrade. According to Wacom, they won't have a compatible driver ready for you until "late October."

Vitec, the company that owns popular accessory maker Manfrotto, has just acquired JOBY and Lowepro for a cool $10.3 million in cash. The acquisition adds JOBY and Lowepro to Vitec's already sizable collection of camera gear brands.

A veteran photojournalist, Rick Wilking secured a spot in the path of totality for the August solar eclipse. While things didn't quite pan out as predicted, an unexpected subject in the sky and a quick reaction made for a once-in-a-lifetime shot.